Calls For Re-electuion

Thousands of Russians flocked to the streets of Moscow and approximately 95 Russian cities allegedly demanding an end to the 12-year-old “autocratic rule” of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after he registered himself as an presidential candidate. Around 50,000 protestors sloganeering that “rats should go!” or “swindlers and thieves, give us our elections back!” or “Putin is a thief!” took to the streets in Moscow alone forcing the administration to station the riot police. Also the Opposition — Communist Party — also brought out 3,000-plus supporters for a rally in Moscow’s capital on December 18, 2011, a day after Indian PM Manmohan Singh left Moscow after a successful bilateral meeting with Putin. Candidates who may challenge Putin are Gennady Zyuganov of the Communist Party; Grigory Yavlinsky, a liberal candidate from the Yabloko Party; Sergei Mironov of A Just Russia; and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the nationalist LDPR. But the star of the show may just be third-richest man in Russia and the country’s most eligible bachelor, NBA owner Mikhail Prokhorov, 46, who announced that he would run as an Independent candidate.